Friday, October 29, 2010

I told you a little bit already about our recent trip to St. Louis, Missouri...and what I wore while we were there {sheepish grin}. Everyone knows about the Gateway Arch, there, but since we saw that recently on one of our cross-country drives to Utah, we skipped it this time. There were so many great options of what to do in St. Lou, we had to choose the things that we wanted to do the most, this time. If I were to plan this trip knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have done the City Museum first. The kids had so much fun there that everything afterwards was a let down--including the zoo, which has earned the rank of America's #1 Zoo--and about an hour into each successive day, they would ask if they could go back to the City Museum.

Since the City Museum was by far the highlight of our trip, and words just can't describe that place, here is the photo tour. (Sorry about the big blue date, I too lazy to edit all of these photos.)

We'll begin with the museum's exterior. This is what you see when you approach the entrance:

The City Museum was designed by artist/entrepreneur Bob Cassilly, who basically took an old, downtown shoe factory and transformed it into an amazing place for children and adults to play--using architectural salvage, old pieces of construction equipment, and junk. Let me tell you, this place is wild.

We went up to the roof, first, and enjoyed the morning sunshine and the fact that we were the only people up there.

Yes, they made that bus look like it is going to drive off of the 12 story building!

Justone and Endeavor climbing up the inside of a water tower.

Endeavor chickened out, but Justone kept climbing.....

....all the way to the top, where he could mess around in this cage thing suspended on the ceiling.

The view from the ferris wheel--which, incidentally, was the fastest spinning ferris wheel I've ever encountered.

Notice how I don't have many pictures of Justone? It's because he was too busy having the time of his life to stop and pose for pictures. This place was like a boy's dreamscape.

So, yes, this isn't exactly a place were they worry about law suits. You pretty much participate at your own risk. But I didn't find anything to be too extreme--we've definitely taken our kids to recreate in higher-risk locations (hello, Mt. Timpanogas). This sign was at the top of a 10 story spiral slide.

The Bionic Man heroically tried the slide first. And climbed all the way back up to tell the children how much fun it had been.

At the bottom of the slides, you enter an absolutely amazing world of man-made caves and tunnels. Unfortunately, the realistic lighting made it really hard to take pictures. But trust me, the caves were awesome. We spent hours exploring.

Then, still inside the museum, we went on a train ride, visited the circus and an aquarium,

played in a skate park without skates,

and climbed up into trees and down out of the belly of a whale.

Then we went back outside for more fun and climbing and huge slides.

Honestly, this place defies description. You just have to visit, someday. And when you do, let us know so that we can meet you there!

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"